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Alamogordo native nominated for Emmy Awards

Jarrod Burt (left) and younger brother, Aaron Burt (right) stand for a photo. Jarrod is nominated for two Creative Arts Emmy Awards this year for his work on A&E's "Born This Way," a docuseries that follows the lives of seven young people with Down syndrome.(Photo: Courtesy Photo)

ALAMOGORDO — Alamogordo’s own, Jarrod Burt, was once a regular hometown kid who started off making silly videos with his friends after school. Those home movies turned into a passion that would lead Burt on the path straight to Hollywood.

Burt, now an established producer and editor in the entertainment industry, is nominated for two Emmy Awards at this year’s 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for his producing and editing work on A&E’s “Born This Way,” a docuseries which highlights the outgoing personalities of seven young adults born with Down syndrome.

The Creative Arts Emmy Awards honor outstanding artistic and technical achievement in a variety of television program genres, guest performances in a weekly series, as well as exceptional work in the animation, reality and documentary categories.

Burt said while growing up he was a movie nerd and filmed countless movies with his friends and younger brother, Aaron. It was at that time that Burt decided he wanted to do it for a living.

“My brother and I when we were little, we would make these little action videos all the time and these funny little movies,” said Burt. “I just remember thinking that would be a really fun job to do one day making movies or television shows and being creative all the time.”

Burt graduated from Alamogordo High School in 1997 and attended the College of Santa Fe, now the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, where he graduated from the university’s Moving Image Arts program in 2001.

Jarrod Burt and his wife Sarah, in a selfie photo. Burt is nominated for two Creative Arts Emmy Awards this year for the first time. The ceremony will air on Sept. 16 on FXX.(Photo: Courtesy Photo)

After graduating from college, Burt moved to Albuquerque for a short while so his wife Sarah could finish her studies at the University of New Mexico.

When Burt was in Albuquerque he worked at KOAT News Channel 7 and later worked for a small production company called Avista Video Histories Inc. for about eight months before moving out to Los Angeles.

Even though Burt found work in Los Angeles right away his first job was not at all glamorous as people think.

“I worked as a production assistant on a commercial. I don’t even remember what that commercial was, basically I just moved stuff around and equipment. Whatever they asked me to do, I did it. Get coffee? Sure, I’ll get coffee,” laughed Burt. “It was not glamorous that’s for sure.”

Burt worked his way up the ladder but he knew he wanted to do editing more so than production work. He took many jobs until he landed a job as an assistant editor.

“I did a couple of commercials and a low budget movie for the Syfy Channel. I did all that as a production assistant. I wanted to be an editor more than work in production but I needed work,” he said. “The way I got into editing quickly was because I got a job as a dailies editor. That’s where you get all the footage from the day and cut it down to a highlight reel and the producers look at the stuff and see what’s good. When I took that job I didn’t really know what I was doing.”

Burt said he would take that highlight reel and edit it down to how a television episode would air with added music which really got the attention of experienced producers and editors in the field.

“This is the first time I’ve been nominated. I was excited and humbled, I don’t take anything for granted and the main thing is that I keep working for my family, but it’s always nice to have recognition.”

Jarrod Burt

“I edited those highlights like I would edit a TV show. I put music in them because it was more fun that way to show how it would look on air,” he said. “A producer saw what I was doing and said I should be editing instead. I became an assistant editor and within six months to a year I was editing which is pretty rare. So I got kind of lucky. Now I go back and forth from producing and editing to switch it up.”

Burt’s filmography includes E!’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” MTV’s “The Challenge,” and A&E’s “Born This Way,” plus many more television series and films.

On being nominated for an Emmy, Burt said he never imagined he could come this far but he is grateful for all the work and doesn’t take anything for granted.

“This is the first time I’ve been nominated. I was excited and humbled, I don’t take anything for granted and the main thing is that I keep working for my family, but it’s always nice to have recognition,” he said. “I really appreciate all that. I stay working for my kids.”

Burt said he would not change anything in his career because he truly loves what he does and encourages everyone to follow their dreams.

“What I love about my job is the creative aspect of it. Coming to work every day with people I really enjoy and getting to come up with cool ideas and making entertainment that people will love is really fun,” he said. “When you’re making somebody’s day and you can make someone really happy, it’s all worth it.”

New Mexico State Sen. Bill Burt, Jarrod’s father, said he and his wife Donnie, are extremely proud of both their sons and all their success in the entertainment industry.

“His mom and I are so very proud of him, he has done wonderful things in his career so far. Jarrod has goals so high for himself but I have no doubt he’ll reach them.”

Sen. Bill Burt

“His mom and I are so very proud of him, he has done wonderful things in his career so far. Jarrod has goals so high for himself but I have no doubt he’ll reach them,” Bill Burt said. “His brother (Aaron), is at the other end of the business, he has a production company and is working on his first film with his partner and I’m very proud of both them.”

Bill recalls when Jarrod would make home movies about their dog Maggie and how talented he was even back then.

“We used to have a Labrador retriever named Maggie and Jarrod and his friends would do these sci-fi ninja movies about her and film her moving her mouth dubbing words to make it seem like she was talking, it was so comical,” he said.

Jarrod not only would like to thank his parents and brother for all their support but also thanks his soccer coach in Alamogordo, Art Morales, who also shaped him into what he is today.

He also thanks his wife Sarah and his children for always supporting him as well.

Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program for “Born This Way,” Producer

Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program for “Born This Way,” Editor

The 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony will be held Sept. 9 at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles, the same venue where the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards will be held, and air at 8 p.m. ET/PT Sept. 16 on FXX.